Panama appeared set to earn their first ever point at the FIFA World Cup, but Ghana’s Caleb Yirenkyi stepped up with the decisive goal late on.
Caleb Yirenkyi scored a 95th-minute winner as Ghana left it late to beat Panama 1-0 and kickstart their Group L campaign with a much-needed victory.
In a game that saw few clear-cut chances for either side, Yirenkyi tucked in Brandon Thomas-Asante‘s cross in the final knockings of second-half stoppage time to seal the win.
Panama almost made a lightning start at Toronto Stadium when Amir Murillo’s cross into the area was met first time by Cecilio Waterman, but Lawrence Ati Zigi sprung into action and clawed the ball to safety in the second minute.
That was the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes, with Jiovany Ramos lashing his effort over the crossbar before Elisha Owusu’s attempt sailed into touch at the other end as Ghana failed to register a shot on target in the first half.
Jonas Adjetey’s header in the 48th minute represented the first time they tested Orlando Mosquera, though it was Panama who came closest to getting in front, only for Cristian Martínez to ripple the side-netting from close range.
Only a last-ditch challenge from Ramos stopped Jordan Ayew from tucking Thomas-Asante’s cross home, with the Panama defender then curling a shot from the edge of the box narrowly past the left post moments later.
Panama looked the most likely to snatch all three points in the closing stages, but a lightning break ended with Antoine Semenyo slipping in Thomas-Asante, who crossed for Yirenkyi to tap home from inside the six-yard box to spark wild scenes among the Ghana supporters.
Yirenkyi Steps Up Late for Toothless Ghana
After England’s 4-2 victory over Croatia in the other first round of Group L fixtures, both Ghana and Panama would have seen this as an opportunity to lay down a marker in their hopes of reaching the knockout stages, and it was the Black Stars who snatched it at the death.
Despite having the likes of Semenyo and Ayew in their ranks, Ghana attempted just one shot in the first 45 minutes, equalling the lowest tally by a team in the first half of a game in this year’s World Cup, along with France against Senegal.
In fact, it was centre-back Adjetey that looked to be Ghana’s biggest threat from set-pieces, having been the man to register his team’s first effort on target before narrowly heading wide from a corner. His two were the joint-most for his team.
Ghana looked set to record their first ever goalless draw at the World Cup, but Thomas-Asante, fresh from helping Coventry City back to the Premier League, proved to be the game-changer off the bench after teeing up Yirenkyi late on.
Yirenkyi’s goal on 94:04 is Ghana’s latest ever goal scored at the World Cup, surpassing Asamoah Gyan’s strike against the United States in June 2010 (92:38), while also denying Panama a first point at FIFA’s flagship competition.
But despite those late celebrations, Ghana will know they need to improve in the final third. Carlos Queiroz’s side registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.25 from their seven attempts to Panama’s 0.75 from their 12 shots.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Ghana vs Panama stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group L meeting at Toronto Stadium on 17 June.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Ghana 1-0 Panama: Post-Match Opta Facts
- Panama remains without a point in a FIFA World Cup group stage (L4), while also having conceded in each of their four matches in the competition (12 goals).
- Caleb Yirenkyi’s goal on 94 minutes and 4 seconds is the latest ever scored by Ghana in a FIFA World Cup match, excluding extra time.
- At 20 years and 153 days old, Yirenkyi became the second-youngest player to score for the Black Stars in the tournament, behind only Draman Haminu, who netted against the USA in 2006 at 20 years and 82 days.
- The only two winning goals scored in the 90th minute or later at the 2026 FIFA World Cup so far have both secured 1-0 victories for African nations, with Caleb Yirenkyi netting for Ghana against Panama and Amad Diallo scoring for Ivory Coast against Ecuador – those were the only wins for Africa in this tournament so far (W2 D4 L4).
- Jordan Ayew has become the fourth player to represent Ghana at three different FIFA World Cup tournaments, joining Asamoah Gyan, Sulley Muntari, and his brother André Ayew. At 34 years and 185 days, he also surpassed Denis Odoi to become the oldest player to feature for Ghana in FIFA World Cup history.
- Panama did not concede a shot until the 48th minute against Ghana – they had allowed an attempt within the first ten minutes of each of their previous three FIFA World Cup matches.
- Panama recorded 62% possession and 502 successful passes against Ghana, having never previously registered more than 40% possession or 350 successful passes in any of their three prior FIFA World Cup matches.
- José Córdoba set a new record for successful passes by a Panama player in a single FIFA World Cup match during the first half alone, completing 63. This surpassed the previous record of 51, which Éric Davis had set against England in 2018. He finished the match with 91 passes completed.
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